Feel right there.” Her voice was soft, no more than a whisper. “That’s where the heart is. -- Narrator/Novalee
(Part 1, Chapter 1 paragraph p. 11)

Importance: Here, Novalee attempts to get her boyfriend, Willy Jack, to feel the heartbeat of their baby, but Willy Jack pulls away and says he can't feel anything. This lie will eat away at him for the next seven years. When things go badly, he will hear Novalee's voice uttering these words again and again and again.

Importance: These words are uttered by Sister Husband as she speaks to Novalee when they meet for the first time. Sister is explaining that the history of a life begins at home. Novalee, however, does not yet have a home to begin her life's story. Yet in time, she will come to find that home is not necessarily four walls and a roof, but where one is loved, accepted, and needed...